Michael Kors and Other Big Movers In Consumer Cyclical on December 6, 2012

The market is doing well so far today. The Nasdaq has risen 0.7%; the S&P 500 is up 0.3%; and the Dow has climbed 0.3%. The consumer cyclical sector is a category of stocks that relies heavily on the business cycle and economic conditions. Consumer cyclicals include industries such as automotive, housing, entertainment and retail. The category can be further divided into durable and non-durable sections. Durable cyclicals include physical goods such as hardware or vehicles, while non-durables represent items like movies or hotel services. The performance of consumer cyclicals is highly related to the state of the economy. They represent goods and services that are not considered necessities, but luxurious purchases. During contractions or recessions, people have less disposable income to spend on consumer cyclicals. When the economy is expanding or booming, the sales of these goods rise as retail and leisure spending increase.

Underperforming the market overall, the Consumer Cyclical sector (XLY) is up 0.6%, and these are its current biggest movers:

At $23.65, Vera Bradley (Nasdaq:VRA) has slipped 9.8%. At 2.3 million shares, the company's volume so far today is 4.6 times the average daily volume.

After a decline of 6.4%, Drew Industries (NYSE:DW) has hit a share price of $28.68. So far today, 103,008 shares have changed hands.

G-III Apparel (Nasdaq:GIII) has risen 4.8% to hit a current price of $37.90 per share. At 133,527 shares, the company's volume so far today is on pace to finish the day below yesterday's volume of 456,886 shares.

Tesla Motors (Nasdaq:TSLA) has increased to a share price of $34.60, a 2.6% rise. This morning, the company is trading a volume of 301,110 shares. This is 0.3 times its current three-month average.

Michael Kors (NYSE:KORS) is at $51.65 per share after an increase of 2.5%. So far today, the company's volume is 1.3 million shares, in line with the current daily average.

Movado Group (NYSE:MOV) is up 2.3% to reach a current price of $32.16 per share. The company's volume for the day so far is 87,683 shares.

After an increase of 2.2%, Fossil (Nasdaq:FOSL) has reached a current price of $88.67. So far today, the company's volume is 307,207 shares, lighter than yesterday's volume of 1.3 million shares.

The Bottom Line No matter the economic climate, Wall Street will always have stocks that make major moves each week. Daily stock performance should be weighed against historical performance and put in context of the market overall. Tools like valuation ratios and profit margins, however, are only as useful as the context you put them in; remember to take historical data and competitor performance into account.